Media

Celebrated German violinist Veronika Eberle in recital
and concert with Christoph Poppen and Hong Kong Sinfonietta

For immediate release
6 Oct 2023

Having enjoyed a meteoric rise to international success since Sir Simon Rattle’s introduction of her at the 2006 Salzburg Easter Festival, then aged just 16, German violinist Veronika Eberle is today widely acclaimed for the unparalleled musicality, sensitivity and maturity in her interpretations, and has collaborated with top orchestras around the world such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra.

In her long-awaited return to Hong Kong, she will first perform a recital on 19 Oct (Thu), and then collaborate with Hong Kong Sinfonietta under the baton of Music Director Christoph Poppen on 21 Oct (Sat), playing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 3 as well as the Hong Kong première of great Japanese composer Toshio Hosokawa’s Violin Concerto Genesis, written especially for her as a gift to her and her newborn child. Tickets are selling fast on URBTIX; enjoy a 20% discount when purchasing standard tickets to both performances.

Toshio Hosokawa, Japan’s pre-eminent living composer, creates his distinctive musical language from the fascinating relationship between Western avant-garde art and traditional Japanese culture. His Violin Concerto Genesis, written in 2020 as a gift to Veronika Eberle and her newborn son, was co-commissioned by Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and Grafenegg Festival. In the mesmerising work, the soloist represents human life while the orchestra is imagined as the nature and universe surrounding him. Eberle herself will be presenting the Hong Kong première conducted by Music Director Christoph Poppen in the concert on 21 Oct, which features a unique programme beginning with Mozart’s spirited Symphony No 33; Eberle will then perform the same composer’s timeless and beloved Violin Concerto No 3. After the interval, the orchestra will play Schubert’s famous “Unfinished” Symphony, before Eberle returns to premiere Hosokawa’s work and conclude the concert.

On top of performing with Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Eberle will also appear in recital on 19 Oct alongside local pianist Colleen Lee. The pair will perform two of the most iconic violin sonatas – Beethoven’s “Kreutzer” Sonata and Franck’s Sonata in A – as well as Bartók’s exhilarating, folk-inspired Violin Rhapsody No 1 & 2.

Hong Kong Sinfonietta

***Great Violin Concertos*: Veronika Eberle Plays Hosokawa & Mozart**

21 Oct 2023 (Saturday) | 8pm
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
$480, $340, $200

Music Director/Conductor: Christoph Poppen
Violin: Veronika Eberle

Programme
Mozart – Symphony No 33 in B-flat, K319
Mozart – Violin Concerto No 3 in G, K216
Schubert – Symphony No 8 in B minor, D759, “Unfinished”
Toshio Hosokawa – Genesis for Violin & Orchestra (2020) (Hong Kong première)
Commissioned by Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and Grafenegg Festival

DOUBLE ACTs

HKS Recital Series: Veronika Eberle Violin Recital

19 Oct 2023 (Thursday) | 8pm
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
$420, $280, $160

Violin: Veronika Eberle
Piano: Colleen Lee (HKS Artist Associate 2010-2011)

Programme
Bartók – Violin Rhapsody No 2
Beethoven – Sonata for Piano & Violin No 9 in A, Op 47, “Kreutzer”
Bartók – Violin Rhapsody No 1
Franck – Sonata for Violin & Piano in A

Half-price tickets available for full-time students, senior citizens, people with disabilities and their minder, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients
10% discount for group bookings of 4 or more standard tickets
Get a 20% off discount when you purchase standard tickets to both programmes
Suitable for 6 years old or above
Tickets at URBTIX
Tickets online at POPTICKET (no handling fee)

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Christoph Poppen Music Director/Conductor

Conductor, soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue, Christoph Poppen has made a name for himself in diverse roles in the international musical world. As Music Director of Hong Kong Sinfonietta from the 2023/2024 season, he works closely with Music Director Emeritus Yip Wing-sie and Associate Conductor Vivian Ip on the artistic development of the orchestra, creating inspiring and innovative programmes which bring music closer to the community. Highlights of his appearances with the orchestra this season include the Hong Kong première of Toshio Hosokawa’s Violin Concerto, the Asian première of William Kentridge’s Oh, To Believe In Another World, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, his brand new Maestro’s Insights concert series, as well as the Farewell Gala of the Marvão International Music Festival in Portugal.

As Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s Principal Guest Conductor between 2015-2023, Poppen has presented to the Hong Kong audience a rich repertoire ranging from Austro-German masterpieces to contemporary works, brought the orchestra on tour to Germany and Portugal, and taken up the position of Co-chair of the Hong Kong International Conducting Competition. During the current season, he continues his close and highly successful collaboration with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra in his role as Principal Conductor, and with the Israel Chamber Orchestra as Principal Guest Conductor, while being the Artistic Director of the Marvão International Music Festival. Highlights in the 2022/2023 season included appearing with the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música and return visits to the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Munich Chamber Orchestra and Athens State Orchestra, as well as the continuation of his recorded cycle of the complete Mozart Masses with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra for the Naxos label.

From 1995-2006, Poppen was Artistic Director of Munich Chamber Orchestra, establishing the ensemble’s new profile in a short period of time. His distinctive programmes, often contrasting classical and contemporary styles with numerous commissioned works, were highly successful. In 2006, he was appointed Music Director of Radio Symphony Orchestra Saarbrücken and from 2007-2011, he was Music Director of the newly formed Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. He has appeared with orchestras such as Vienna Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Detroit Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Bamberg Symphony, Camerata Salzburg, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Indianapolis Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic and Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He also has a strong presence in Italy, performing regularly with the country’s leading orchestras and at festivals such as the Venice Biennale, as well as giving masterclasses. As an opera conductor, he has enjoyed acclaimed collaborations with Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Frankfurt, Opera Köln, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Aalto-Musiktheater in Essen and the RuhrTriennale.

Founded by Poppen in 2014, the Marvão International Music Festival has grown to become a highly successful and award-winning musical event featuring soloists such as Jörg Widmann, Augustin Hadelich, Javier Perianes and Clara-Jumi Kang. He also founded the International Academy for Music, Arts and Science in Marvão in 2019, and was the Artistic Director of the Classic Revolution Festival in Seoul, South Korea between 2020-2022, for which he curated highly inventive programmes.

As a prize-winning violinist, Poppen co-founded the Cherubini Quartet in 1978. He was appointed Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Hochschule für Musik Detmold, and later at Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where he was President from 1996 to 2000. From 2001 to 2005, he was Artistic Director of the renowned ARD International Music Competition. Since 2003, he has been Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. Since the 2021/2022 academic year, he has been Chair Professor of Violin at the prestigious Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid.

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Veronika Eberle Violin

Veronika Eberle’s exceptional talent and the poise and maturity of her musicianship have been recognised by many of the world’s finest orchestras, venues and festivals, as well as some of the most eminent conductors. Simon Rattle’s introduction of her – then aged just 16 – to a packed Salzburg Festspielhaus at the 2006 Salzburg Easter Festival in a performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic, brought her to international attention.

Key collaborations since then include orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Munich Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as conductors such as Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink, Daniel Harding, Christian Thielemann, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Kent Nagano, Lorenzo Viotti, Louis Langrée, Robin Ticciati, Paavo Järvi, Alan Gilbert, Iván Fischer, Heinz Holliger and Roger Norrington, to name a few.

Recent concerto highlights include Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and a tour with London Symphony Orchestra. Recent chamber music projects include performances at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival with Sol Gabetta and Antoine Tamestit, and Schubertiade with Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih, amongst others. Highlights in the 2023/2024 season include débuts with Budapest Festival Orchestra under Ivan Fischer, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse under Nathalie Stutzman, Karajan Academy under Oscar Jockel and Detroit Symphony Orchestra under David Afkham. This season also sees Eberle return to Wigmore Hall as Artist in Residence, and to Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Rattle), Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Fischer) and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Stutzman).

Born in Donauwörth, Southern Germany, Eberle started violin lessons at the age of six, and four years later became a junior student at the Richard-Strauss-Konservatorium in Munich with Olga Voitova. After studying privately with Christoph Poppen for a year, she joined the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München where she studied with Ana Chumachenco from 2001-2012.

Eberle has benefitted from the support of a number of prestigious organisations, including the Reinhold Würth Musikstiftung gGmbH, Nippon Music Foundation, Borletti-Buitoni Trust (Fellowship in 2008), Orpheum Stiftung zur Förderung Junger Solisten (Zurich), Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben (Hamburg) and Jürgen Ponto-Stiftung (Frankfurt). She was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist from 2011-2013 and a Dortmund Konzerthaus “Junge Wilde” artist from 2010-2012.

Eberle plays the 1700 “Dragonetti” Stradivarius violin, which was made available to her on generous loan by the Nippon Music Foundation, as well as the 1693 “Ries” Stradivarius, which is kindly on loan from the Reinhold Würth Musikstiftung gGmbH.

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Colleen Lee Piano

Since winning the 6^th Prize at the 15^th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition, Colleen Lee has performed extensively throughout Asia, Europe and North America in solo recitals and with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Galacia Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Hong Kong Philharmonic, among others. Lee was the Artist Associate of Hong Kong Sinfonietta in 2010/2011, and has toured with the orchestra in South America, Italy and Taiwan. This season, she will make multiple appearances alongside leading international artists in the brand new HKS Recital Series, and perform with the orchestra in Shenzhen at China’s largest outdoor music festival in November, under the baton of Music Director Emeritus Yip Wing-sie.

Lee has been a featured artist at several international music festivals including the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki and Gdansk in Poland, Assisi International Piano Festival in Italy, Meissen Pianoforte Festival in Germany, International Keyboard Festival in New York, Bowdoin International Music Festival and Musicus Fest in Espoo, Finland. Her performance of the “Magic Piano and Chopin Shorts” animation series at the 42^nd Hong Kong Arts Festival had garnered rave review. She was invited to perform twice in the “Beethoven Piano Sonatas Marathon” in Vienna and Hong Kong. She appeared as soloist with the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble in the 2018 Shanghai New Music Week. In 2019, she made her début with London Symphony Orchestra under Simon Rattle.

As an enthusiastic chamber musician, Lee frequently appears in chamber music concerts and has also collaborated with world-famous instrumentalists including violinists Ning Feng and Kang Dong-suk, cellists Trey Lee, Daniel Müller-Schott and Alexander Kniazev, trumpet virtuoso Sergei Nakariakov, and the Shanghai Quartet. She is also a member of the RTHK Chamber Soloists which was formed in 2018.

Born in Hong Kong, Lee started her piano lessons at the age of four. Subsequently she was trained at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) under Eleanor Wong and at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover with Arie Vardi. She won the First Prize at the 3rd Seiler International Piano Competition in Kitzingen, Germany, the 2003 Dorothy Mackenzie Artist Recognition Award, Third Place and Critic and Audience Prizes at the 15^th International Competition for Piano and Orchestra in Cantú, Italy, and was a prize winner at the 1^st Hong Kong International Piano Competition, the Pro Musicis International Award, Gina Bachauer International Artist Competition, Sendai International Music Competition, and the 16^th Santander International Piano Competition in Spain.

Lee’s discography includes an all-Chopin album recorded on the Pleyel Piano released by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, and a complete Scarlatti Sonatas album by Naxos. She was also featured on the Hong Kong Sinfonietta DECCA album This is Classical Music 3.

In recognition of Lee’s outstanding achievements in music and in the promotion of arts and culture, she has been awarded Certificate of Commendation by the Secretary of Home Affairs, Commendation for Community Service by the Hong Kong Government and Young Artist Award by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. Currently Lee is the Honorary-Artist-in-Residence of The Education University of Hong Kong and on the piano faculty of HKAPA and Hong Kong Baptist University.

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